


It Takes A Village

by Brumeier



Series: Life in the Yukon [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 17:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18579172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: Evan is dealing with Jon's improbable backstory, the upcoming mostly-naked Fun Run in the snow, and Lantea's biggest party of the year. But Ronon has one last curveball to throw him.





	It Takes A Village

**Author's Note:**

> Whatif AU: Party Hardy Challenge

_(Thank you so much to StarWatcher for the lovely cover art!)_

* * *

_Here’s a fun fact, listeners. Shel Silverstein, beloved author of children’s poems, also wrote all the songs on the_ Sloppy Seconds _album by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show. We’re talking some very racy, suggestive, out there lyrics that really aren’t appropriate for the kind of family friendly entertainment we provide here at K-LAN. Instead, here’s one of the angstier songs on the album, all about missed opportunities. Just as a reminder, don’t you miss the opportunity to join us at the big party this Saturday. I remember last year, there was this…what? Oh. My special visitor has reminded me that I’m supposed to be playing a song. So here’s _The Things I Didn’t Say, _lyrics by Shel Silverstein_.

_I didn't say, "Don't do it babe" when she packed up to go_  
_I didn't say "Come back here honey and try with me once more"_  
_And when she asked me if I loved her, I just turned away_  
_She's gone and now I'm hearing all the things I didn't say_

*o*o*o*

Evan had a lot on his mind, so he was taking a walk around town to try and think things through. He didn’t often step away from the Café, but it seemed like his whole life had been up-ended and he didn’t know what to do about it. Didn’t know how to feel about it.

_“You don’t believe me,” Jon said wearily._

_“I didn’t say that.”_

_“You haven’t said anything.”_

He’d honestly though the hardest thing would be watching Ronon and Jon try to figure out a way to co-exist with each other. It was wonderful and terrifying all at once, and a part of Evan was scared of messing with the status quo. He was even more scared of dealing with the information Jon had given him regarding his past.

Evan walked past K-LAN and saw Blair through the window. Lantea’s resident DJ was pulling vinyl records out and chattering away with his boyfriend, Jim, who was visiting from the Fresh Start camp. They only got to see each other about once a month, but Blair had confided to Evan the other day that a change was coming. Pretty soon Jim would be a part of their slowly growing community.

Blair grinned at him through the window and gave him a thumbs up. Evan returned the gesture and kept on walking.

It was cold, snow crunching loudly under Evan’s boots, and there was a strong breeze snapping the big canvas sign that was strung across the main street. It was almost time for the annual Polar Bear Party, one of the biggest shindigs Lantea put on during the year. They had the perfect weather for it.

“Evan!” Connie Kilabuk called out, waving from the sidewalk in front of the newspaper. “Just the man I was hoping to see!”

Evan crossed the street. “What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to get my order in early for my book club’s holiday party. I know how busy you get once December rolls around.”

In addition to running the Pegasus Café, Evan did a little catering here and there. Connie’s book club – wine and spirits club would’ve been a more accurate name – always had a holiday party and Evan always supplied the pastries for it. In return he received free publicity in the paper.

“Not to worry,” he assured Connie. “I’ve got you covered.”

“I knew I could count on you!” Connie wrapped her arms around herself. She must’ve only just popped out of the office to talk to him, since she wasn’t wearing a coat. “You all set for the party?”

“Aren’t I always?”

“You ever decide to step away from the kitchen, we sure could use your organizational skills at the paper.” Connie shivered. “I’m going back in. Don’t stay out too long in this cold, honey.”

“I won’t,” Evan promised. 

_“This is science fiction movie stuff, not real life.”_

_“It’s my life, actually. And you’re the first person I’ve shared it with.”_

Evan remembered when he’d first come to Lantea. He’d been working on his pet project of collecting the best recipes from each state, which really was more about getting to travel than anything else. He’d grown up on a commune in California and he’d been pretty sheltered from the world. Evan had met a lot of amazing people on his journey, but Ronon was the one who stopped him in his tracks.

He’d just gotten used to Ronon’s erratic schedule and insistence on living out on his own in the bush, and then Jon had come to town. He’d been quiet and cautious and had seemed so sad. He and Evan had an instant, soul-deep connection, and Evan had lost his heart twice over.

Did Jon’s revelations really change any of that?

“Hey,” Clint said as Evan’s feet carried him past the general store. He was shoveling out an area to make room for a display of ice melt. His one-eyed dog Lucky was rolling around in the pile of snow Clint was moving.

“Hey yourself. How’s business?”

“The usual. I just got a supply of cold weather gear in. Still waiting on that fancy pink salt you wanted, though.”

“No hurry,” Evan replied amiably. 

Clint was really good about stocking supplies for specific residents, like Caldwell’s coffee, but sometimes there were delays getting things from the Lower 48. Evan was used to it.

“You gonna be around for the Fun Run this year?” he asked Clint.

“Should be. I’d hate to miss another one.”

Clint’s photo safaris into the bush were never planned. Even the man himself never knew when he was going to get the urge. It made keeping regular store hours impossible, but most people were used to it.

“Hope to see you there.”

They nodded at each other and Clint got back to his display while Evan continued his walk.

_“Have you ever heard of Asgardia Innovations? They do a lot of cutting edge, experimental science. That’s where I was born.”_

_“I don’t understand.”_

_“I’m a clone. Remember Dolly the sheep? Same principal. Only, you know. Me instead of a farm animal.”_

Evan turned down a side street, passing by the Laund-Ro-Bowl on the corner where you could bowl a few frames while you waited for your laundry to finish.

Clones. It was something from a science fiction movie. Evan wanted to reject it out of hand, but it seemed like celebrities cloning beloved pets was a new trend. Why not a person as well as a Pug?

“You must be out of your mind!”

Evan’s lips twitched up in a smile when he heard Dr. McKay’s very loud voice. He and John were loading some supplies into the back of John’s truck. Mongo came bounding over and plopped himself down right in front of Evan, tongue lolling as he waited for some attention. Evan obligingly scratched behind the big dog’s ears.

“Hey, Evan,” John said. He looked mostly recovered from the plane crash. The bruises had faded and the gash on his forehead was scabbed over. “Out for a walk?”

“Of course he’s out for a walk, Captain Obvious. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside the Café.” McKay was bundled in so many layers he looked like the Michelin Man.

“Everything okay?” John asked.

“Just needed some air,” Evan replied. “You making a supply run? I didn’t think the plane was up and running yet.”

“It’s not,” McKay said sourly. “We’re driving this lot over to the village.”

“McKay,” John said warningly.

“Nothing you can say is going to make me happy to have you back in that tiny deathtrap of a plane, John.”

John rolled his eyes and talked to Evan instead of engaging McKay. “You all set for the Fun Run?”

“Yeah. Beckett loaded up on extra thermal blankets this year.”

McKay made a rude noise. “Don’t tell me you’re joining the idiots who’ll be running around here naked in the snow.”

“Not naked,” John corrected. “They stopped going full nude back in the eighties.”

“Yeah. We all wear our underwear,” Evan said. The child of a hippie commune he might be, but he wouldn’t feel comfortable running around with his dick out when all the local kids would be there cheering everyone on. “You know, you’re not a true Lantean till you do a Fun Run. It’s tradition.”

He was only teasing, but McKay got a thoughtful look on his face.

“See you guys at the Café,” Evan said. He dodged around Mongo and kept going.

_“You’re saying some kind of mad scientist grew you in a lab. Do you hear how that sounds?”_

_“There’s more,” Jon said, and his tone was grim. “They screwed up somehow. Or maybe it was the same for the sheep but they had no way of knowing.”_

_“Screwed up how?”_

_“The man they cloned me from? I have all of his memories. Fifty-odd years of memories, of a marriage and a child and career as an Air Force pilot. It’s like I have two different timelines in my head.”_

The crazy thing was…it wasn’t all that crazy. Blair liked to call Jon an old soul, partially because of his taste in music but also because it was a vibe he exuded. He knew things most guys his age didn’t know. Sometimes Jon would come out with an old-fashioned phrase, or a bit of trivia from thirty or forty years ago that was incredibly specific.

Evan couldn’t imagine what that must be like, to have someone else’s memories. Jon had no family of his own, but he remembered being part of this other guy’s family. Was that why he was so accommodating of Evan’s relationship with Ronon? Because he thought that was as close as he could get? It made Evan’s heart hurt.

He heard a car coming up behind him and turned to see Sheriff Qinnauyauk’s truck pulling up alongside, passenger side window rolled down.

“Evan. Everything okay?”

“Fine, thanks.”

“You stay out here much longer you’ll turn into a yeti. You want a ride back to the Café?”

Evan thought about it. Thought about how he’d basically walked out on Jon, who’d shared something so personal with him. How must he be feeling?

“That would be nice, actually. Thank you.”

He climbed up in the big truck and fastened his seatbelt.

_“You should know they might come looking for me someday. The Asgardia people. They saw me as a failed experiment.”_

_“You ran away?”_

_“I escaped before they decided to terminate the experiment.”_

The Café was quiet. It was that period between breakfast and lunch when they had some downtime to do prep. Evan felt bad leaving that all on Jon and JB, but the walk had done what he’d wanted it to do. His mind, and purpose, were much clearer.

He found JB and Aiden in the kitchen, doing the lunch prep. 

“Feeling better?” JB asked.

“Yeah. Thanks for helping out, Aiden.”

“No problem. I help my grandma in the kitchen all the time. You can take as much time as you need.”

“We got this,” JB agreed.

“Thanks, guys.”

Evan’s apartment was over the Café, and he climbed the stairs with some trepidation. Would Jon have left in the face of Evan’s apparent rejection? Where would he go? Evan let out a sigh of relief when he found Jon at the kitchen table with his hands wrapped around a glass of Scotch. He looked tired. Resigned.

Evan walked purposefully toward him and kissed Jon before he could say anything. Clone or not, Evan loved him. Jon was a good man, whether born or created in a lab, and nothing he could say would change that.

When Evan pulled back, Jon’s eyes were gleaming with unshed tears. 

“We okay?” he asked.

“I love you,” Evan replied. “None of the rest of it matters.”

Jon tugged Evan down onto his lap and hugged him so tight Evan swore he could hear his ribs creak under the pressure. “I love you, too.”

*o*o*o*

Almost all the men in town were crammed into Doc Beckett’s office, waiting for the kick-off to the Fun Run. Laura, Caldwell’s assistant, had caused a bit of a stir by joining in on what was traditionally an all-male spectacle. She was wearing a magenta sports bra and the female equivalent of boxer briefs.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Dr. McKay grumbled. “If I get hypothermia and die, it’s all your fault.”

John leaned over and gave him a kiss. “You won’t die.”

Evan had worried that McKay might feel a little self-conscious stripped down to just underwear and sensible shoes, but it wasn’t like he was in a room full of supermodels. Old Bernard was wider than he was tall and, as always, was wearing the skimpiest pair of underwear possible. The man had no shame.

“We ready, lads and lassie?” Doc Beckett called out from the front of the waiting room.

Everyone cheered in response.

“Let the Fun Run begin!”

Evan gave Jon’s hand a squeeze and then they were following everyone out the door. Fuck, but it was cold out there! That just inspired Evan to run faster. The whole group followed the traditional route up Main Street, where they would then loop around Glacier and end up back down at the Doc’s office for hot chocolate and thermal blankets.

As they ran through the snow-covered street, everyone else in town lined up on either side to cheer them on. The school kids had spent the whole week making banners and signs, which they held up and waved around. Connie was there with her camera to commemorate the moment for the paper. Caldwell stood out front of K-LAN, looking disapproving as always; he hated the Fun Run but was at least smart enough not to try and get rid of it.

It occurred to Evan as he ran, pumping his arms to keep the blood flowing, that Lantea wasn’t unlike the commune he’d grown up on. Everyone did their part to keep the town running, and neighbors looked after neighbors. No-one cared that Evan had two boyfriends. And he knew if the mad scientists who’d created Jon ever came looking for him, the whole town would band together to help one of their own.

He was proud of the town, and his place in it.

Someone blew past Evan and he stumbled in surprise when he saw it was Ronon. The man was wearing a barely-there Speedo and his dreadlocks had been tied back. He was, as always, magnificent. He’d never done the Fun Run, not in all the years Evan had lived there.

Even more surprising, as Ronon passed Jon the two exchanged an exploding fist bump. Just when Evan thought he had things figured out, it became clear he most definitely didn’t. But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

There was a lot of raucous good cheer when everyone made it back to Doc Beckett’s, where Jissika was handing out paper cups of hot cocoa and Laura got to wear the plastic gold crown for having the fastest time. Evan stood awkwardly between Ronon and Jon, not sure what he was supposed to do. But then they each gave him a hug and shared a handshake.

“Okay, people!” Caldwell announced, standing on a chair. “Put your clothes back on and let’s get this party started!”

As much as he disliked the Fun Run, Caldwell really enjoyed the Polar Bear Party. So much so that he hosted it at his compound every year. His oversized cabin had a Great Room with a fireplace and a pool table, and outside on the deck he had heat lamps and another fireplace. Everyone brought a dish to pass, Caldwell manned the enormous built-in barbeque grill, Evan supplied cold salads and desserts, and Laura made winter-themed mixed drinks still wearing her plastic crown.

For the kids there was a snowman building contest, sledding, and an indoor heated pool. The adults drank beer, danced to Blair’s eclectic party playlist, and challenged each other at pool and cards. Later, when everyone was feeling much looser, there’d be a massive snowball fight.

“So what’s this all about?” McKay asked, sidling up next to Evan and Blair by the deck rail.

“The party? It’s the town’s way of welcoming winter,” Evan said. “It’s tradition.”

“It’s weird.”

“Actually,” Blair said, “Winter solstice celebrations date back thousands of years. That typically happens in December, but a lot of cultures mark the changing of the season as early as October or November. When it’s dark for a good three or four months out of the year, man, people need a reason to celebrate.”

“It’s also nice to share in the spirit of community.” Evan clinked his beer bottle against McKay’s and Blair’s. “You did the Fun Run, Dr. McKay. You’re a Lantean now.”

McKay flushed, looking pleased. “Yes, well. I’m glad you don’t run it naked anymore. Although at these temperatures it would hardly be much of a show.”

Blair laughed. “You got that right, Doc!”

They chatted for a few more minutes and then Evan went looking for Jon, finding him curled up on the couch next to the indoor fireplace. Talking to Ronon.

“Hey,” he said, dropping down next to Jon. Ronon was sprawled on the floor. “What are we talking about? Should I be nervous?”

“I’m moving,” Ronon said without preamble. He had little silver snowflakes threaded through his dreadlocks.

Evan felt his breath catch. Moving? Moving away?

Jon reached over and took his hand. “He’s moving into town.”

That caused a completely different kind of short circuit in his brain. Ronon was moving out of his isolated cabin in the bush? Why? And what did that mean for Evan and Jon?

“Why now?” Evan asked.

Ronon shrugged. “It’s time. I’ve done my penance.” He shared a look with Jon that Evan couldn’t decipher. Penance? Penance for what?

How was it that Evan knew so little about the men he loved so much?

“So. Um.”

“I think we should renovate the apartment,” Jon said. “Make a workable living space. For the three of us.”

“The three of us?”

“Told you he wasn’t ready,” Ronon said.

“No! No, I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever this is. Ah. What is this?”

Evan couldn’t seem to get a grasp on the situation. Were Jon and Ronon attracted to each other? Did they want to be a threesome?

“No threesomes,” Jon said firmly, as if reading Evan’s mind. “Let’s just say we both love you, and neither of us wants to make you choose. It’s weird and unconventional, but I think if we try we can make it work.”

“Separate bedrooms,” Ronon said. “For everyone.”

“And soundproofing,” Jon added.

“So, what? We make a schedule?” The organizer in Evan pictured a chore wheel, only for sex.

“I think we can manage something a little more organic than that. So whatever pie charts or spreadsheets you’re imagining right now, the answer is no.” Jon leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of Evan’s head.

“Can we really do this?” Because quite suddenly it seemed like the answer to everything Evan had ever wanted. To share a home with Jon _and_ Ronon? To be able to share his life with them equally and not have to feel guilty about it? It was like a dream come true.

“You grew up with hippies,” Ronon said. “Poly relationships should be an easy concept for you to understand.”

Jon chuckled. “Ronon and I have a lot of interests in common. We both like hunting and fishing. We both knit. It won’t be a hardship to spend time with him.”

“Are you sure? Really sure?” Evan asked Jon.

“It’s time for me, too. Time to stop living a borrowed life and live the life I want instead. And I want this, Evan. For all of us.”

Evan could see the truth of it in his eyes. Maybe they were all done with penance, for their past mistakes and their past fears and everything else that had ever gone wrong for them individually. Maybe together they could surmount it all and finally be happy. Evan was done with regrets and missed opportunities. 

“We’ve got time to work out the details,” Ronon said, getting to his feet. “Let’s go dance.”

He pulled both Jon and Evan up off the couch and nudged them towards the deck.

Surrounded by his friends, his lovers, and his community, Evan couldn’t believe his good fortune. It was a party he was never going to forget.

**Author's Note:**

> **Songlist:**
> 
>  
> 
> [The Things I Didn’t Say](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktkQsnR4syI), Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
> 
>  **AN:** I got a bee in my bonnet the other day and did a re-read on this series. I'd been struggling to tell the next story, which was Evan's and Jon's and Ronon's, and then I thought about the AU challenge, and finally I had something I could work with. Anyone who's seen _Northern Exposure_ remembers all the men running naked through town, snow piled high around them. I wanted to replicate that here, just with slightly more clothes. ::grins::
> 
> Also, I'd like to thank everyone who gave me suggestions for an Evan/Jon/Ronon poly scenario where Jon and Ronon love on Evan, but not necessarily each other. Although I tried to show that they're on their way to being friends at least. I just want everyone to be happy. ::smishes them together:: Be happy, darn it!


End file.
